Preface to the First Edition

Preface to the First Edition

The first edition of this book has been published at a time when Pakistan is again in the throes of constitutional experimentation and elections are around the corner. In this book an attempt has been made to accurately incorporate all the amendments made in the Constitution of Pakistan, since 1973 to the present time. This one volume work also contains the essential electoral laws that a practicing lawyer would need in order to represent his client before the election tribunals and the superior courts in Pakistan.

The Legal Framework Order, 2002, has wrought fundamental changes in the ‘Basic Law’ of Pakistan and expressly provides that the validity of the amendments made in the Constitution and the Orders passed thereunder shall not be called in question in any Court on any ground whatsoever. Human ingenuity, being what it is, I do not doubt that, sooner or later public spirited individuals in Pakistan, ‘invok(ing) the genius of the Constitution,’ as did William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, in 1777, will succeed in challenging the ouster clause in the said Order.

All the amendments to the Constitution, since 1973, have been reproduced within brackets in bold print, in the text of the Constitution itself. Each footnote is self contained in that a detailed reference to the particular amendatory statute and to the Article of the Constitution amended is provided. Where necessary, for ease of reference, the history of changes in the particular Article has been chronicled. First, the penultimate form of the Article has been reproduced. Thereafter the Article, as adopted in 1973, is provided, followed by the Article, as amended from time to time, in chronological order. The provisions of the Constitution that have been omitted and/or deleted by substitution have been reproduced in italics in the footnotes.

A distinctive feature of this work is the inclusion of comparative tables of the Articles of the Constitution of Pakistan of 1973, its repealed Constitutions of 1962 and 1956, the Constitution of India of 1950 and that of the Government of India Act, 1935.

I am deeply appreciative of all the support and encouragement of my wife, Dilara Sheikh, and her untiring effort in the preparation of the first draft of this work.

I am also grateful to Mr. Naeemuddin Siddiqui, Director Library and Research at the High Court of Sindh, for all his assistance in providing me with the copies of the latest gazettes and relevant amendments to the law and his valuable suggestions on the subject-matter of the book. Invaluable services were provided by Mr. Salahuddin Sheikh, Superintendent, Government of Sindh, Law Department, in proof reading the manuscript. His dedication to detail and accuracy is truly commendable and noteworthy. I wish him luck in his future endeavour.

I would also like to record my appreciation for the yeoman’s services provided by my Assistant Mr. Azhar Shahzad, who single handedly finalized the manuscript and ably assisted me in the research and preparation of the footnotes for the latest amendments to the Constitution.

I am also thankful to Mr. Nasir Khan, Advocate, for thoroughly checking the comparative tables of the Constitutions of Pakistan and India prepared by me. Indeed the secretarial staff of my law firm extended unstinted support and cooperation to me in the preparation of the work.

Finally I would like to thank my publisher, Mr. Kamran Noorani, for all the encouragement and support during the preparation of the manuscript.